Wednesday 18 May 2011

Of Babus and Babudom...

The very sight of buildings like these send me the shivers! No, it is not some haunted mansion, but the ultimate Hot Seat of Babudom. Babus rule the Departments from the cavernous dark cubicles of these mammoth structures. Britishers left us the legacy of Babudom and we do have the Feudal Lords ruling over us, poor clerical staff. Indian Railways is the largest Babudom, boasting a contingent of 1.6 million employees.  Of these, the number of Babus starting from Section Engineer to Commercial Inspector, cutting across departmental lines must be somewhat trivial. But the power and authority these Babus exert on poor unsuspecting staff is just unimaginable!

Simply entering one such office to get a leave sanctioned is a laborious process with many sub-processes! First, you enter the Branch Office where the Assistants of Babus chit chat and relax. On seeing you, some try to ignore you, some plain look at you blank and many scrutinize you, as if you landed up from Mars! Crossing all these glances, you reach the Doors of Heaven where your Ultimate Babu is seated in airconditioned Chamber. I thought the name Chamber suited these cubicles- they are worse than the Nazis' Gas Chambers! The careers of many unsuspecting subordinates are decided here- lock, stock and barrel. Glaring at you stands our own St Peter at these Gates- the Peon. Each Babu has his own peon waiting on him, a perfect au pair! St Peter's job ranges from washing Babu's tea cups to buying vegetables for Masternis. Unfortunately, many Babus have multiple Masternis and it is fun watching St Peter shuffling vegetable bags between homes!


Once St Peter decides you are fit to enter the Heaven, he hands over a small white sheet where you scribble down your name, which you promptly forgot the moment you entered the Bhooth Bungalow. The paper goes in and you start your eternal wait. You can count the number of threads on your saree, the number of times the phone rings with no one to pick up or simply the number of times the buzzer of Babu sounds. Each time the buzzer sounds, our Peter jumps up, goes in and comes back in a jiffy. People barge in and go out and you remain out of focus for a long, long time. You plead with Peter to let you in just for a second and he shows who is the boss here...You grind your teeth and say to yourself- " You shall pay for this Peter, just come to Reservation Office for a booking inside the counter". Covering your burning anger with a sweet smile, you bat your eyelashes at Peter and sit on the screeching wooden stool.

The red light above your Babu's name says ENGAGED. Netas and their chamchas go in and come out as if through a revolving gate, but the Pearly Gates remain closed for you- a damned and doomed departmental clerk. After a nerve wracking wait of two hours, Babu finally decides to give you a darshan and St Peter comes showing all his 36 brown teeth- " You are summoned". Ah! Heavenly to hear these words, you jump up and rush into the room. Babu is busy flipping through a file, gives a curt nod for your  Good Morning. You stand rooted on the same spot and hand over your leave application. Babu unwaveringly gets it, stamps his signature and you heave a sigh of relief. Your Thank you, sir falls on deaf ears and marks the end of your meeting with Babu. Shoulders drooping, you make your move out. Every meeting with Babu beyond Pearly Gates is just the same and you regret the day you started service under Babu. Babu remains the ultimate authority. Babu is indispensable. Babu is omnipotent. Babu is omnipresent. Babu is intelligent. You, on the other hand is an MBA. You are just a clerk. You are nothing, a void. Look what changes a visit to Babu can bring on you! It gives a hefty blow to your self confidence. You feel like a vermin. 


A day will come when Railways would go into Private Hands. Babus may not like the changes, but i would like to work under someone professional, with ethics. Some one who can understand my devotion to work. Someone who can identify my merit. Some one who can reciprocate my Good mornings with a smile. Above all, someone who can feel what i feel...


All pictures courtesy- Google search

19 comments:

  1. This is what the public gets at the hands of babudom.Never thought even the staff had to undergo such a treatment.Why such a tortuous procedure for getting the leave sanctioned?There should be a peremptory change in the way government offices work.But things are changing at least on the reservation front.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really enjoyed a peek into Babudum, be it the Railways or any government run offices they all run in the same manner. All that matters to them once they are in, that they remain there till their retirement, nothing else matters. It is a nice time- pass job with unlimited authority, and also unlimited goose, what else does one need?
    As you said, it should soon be taken over by private companies, who will run it efficiently.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Better forget your leave, go and continue your work!

    Babuism has not been developed by babus, probably by the subordinates. Still you people are handling you current Babus as you did with British Babus! Neglet them and bring them to 21st Century!

    Hope, Your Babu is also begging to his Babu for leave as you did!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amen to that! So Wonderfully written :)
    A Babu?! Looks more like a 'Yumraj' in hell!

    ReplyDelete
  5. superb niveditha....any rly staff can identify himself in ur place and i am sure after reading this he will rewind his memories about his babu. the ultimate problem of rlys is ...as far as i noticed in my 15 yrs of service is ,there are too many bosses who will question a subordinate. there is no unity of command nor unity of direction. there is no chain of command and there is too much power on middle level management without much accountability. a babu may or may not do his job and even if he is indicted he goes scotfree. group c is cursed with too much responsibility and group a and b can conveniently shift their responsibility on group c. and the chamchas....my God .....babu may come and babu may go but the chamchas go on far ever....is there any light at the end of the tunnel????

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dear KParthasarathy:) Thanks for the visit and comment. There is absolute Monarchy in some departments of mid level officers who just enjoy torturing the lesser mortals. Glad i would be, the day Railways is privatised;)))

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dear Rama, 100% agreed with what you say- Privatisation is the only option left for us! May be the perpetuality of service gives lots of courage for these Babus to rule over us!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dear janaki...LOL on your comment! Yes, Babu will sure be begging his Babu for his leave:P
    But i don't understand how we neglect them...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey Arti, thanks for the comment- yes, made me think the same- Yamraj...LOL!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Obviously, there is no light at the end of the tunnel Dear Ramnath:(
    The only thing that shines here is the fact that we have completed 15 years of service in the MOST HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT of the world:P

    ReplyDelete
  11. hmmmm, talking about Indian political / administration structure? ...from my little understanding of your satire write-up {u r good at it, i tell u! :)............this is not so different from what is obtainable in Nigeria.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ahh Babus and their exaggerated sense of self importance!

    But I love the new wicked cloud nine. Loved this post.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi
    1.i think this redtape culture remains universal of all state owned DEPTs. (REVENUE,RTO,CTO, TNSTC.. etc etc0. but they shw their unity in Siphoning State money thru dept Purchases.
    2.the height of arrogance the higher officials exercise on the junior staff is so arrogant( plainly put ragging). whic makes them (Jrs) too become arrogant and treat their Jrs in the v same way at the later part of their career. May be even you also may turn like tat after 20 yrs of service.
    3.Buyin veggies for Masternis i think tats prevalent even wit Police dept.
    4."Some one who can understand my devotion to work".. tats the funniest part.. the babus knows who stands for what.. but openly they will nt recognise talent as they dont like to give due respect or ego. but they will b good enuf in extractin yr work for Your Quality of work.
    5.Last but not least dont cry for PRIVATISATION. as i feel RLYS is some thing whic apart frm Mode of transport it serves for keeping the nation intact. Next to Nehru dynasty, PEPSI... Rly s some thing u can find all across the country.and serves for AAM AADMI of all clases.(I AC,II AC, III AC, SLEEPER, UR)...etc everyu one has a space to travel.

    ReplyDelete
  14. speaking about babudom is like another daily part of every indian's life
    life in India is mpossible for one who has not experienced these
    One can see such large and majestic buildings here at Mumbai..

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dear Ibhade...good guess;) Yes, it is about Indian Railways and the system of administration in it or any Government department here. Great to know Nigeria is too the same...God save you people. Amen!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dear Purba:) Thanks for ur comment mate. And glad you love the new wicked Cloud Nine:P

    ReplyDelete
  17. Dear Anonynmous! Good analysis and superb comments. Yes, all departments are similar in siphoning off money, egos of Bosses are higher than Mt Everest, Masternis are multiple and i am sad to be someone working hard...but as you know, hardwork always has its rewards!!! Privatisation is inevitable here, otherwise, there is no hope of showing profit round the corner...

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dear Madrasi..thanks for the visit and comment...Yeah, one can see many such buildings here too in Chennai, the building here is Zonal Office, Chennai:)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Well babudom is a legacy we need to shake off in today's times..! Do you know I once visited the collectorate at Dharmapuri seeking some information relating to demographics. They asked me to meet the "computer" ! I was really puzzled as to how I could meet with a machine when I realized that this was the name given to a statistical officer! I can write pages on "file movement" as I had the opportunity to work with a NGO resource centre supported by the govt...!! Peons are gods..! One needs to keep them happpy otherwise.....

    ReplyDelete

Hey, just let me know your feedback:)